Mamata threatens no-trust move against Somnath Chatterjee

Kolkata, July 11 (IANS) Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Friday threatened to bring a no-confidence motion against CPI-M MP and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee if he did not step down from his post immediately in the wake of the Left parties withdrawing support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. “Chatterjee must resign from his office without delay. The Left parties have already withdrawn support to the UPA government. It’s high time for him to go as well,” Banerjee told reporters at her Kolkata residence Friday.

“If the Speaker does not resign, we will move a no-confidence motion against him.”

“We are against the fall of the government. But it will be the Left parties’ dictatorship if Chatterjee continues to be the Speaker,” Banerjee added.

After the Left parties withdrew support to the UPA government, it led to a debate in the political circles on whether Chatterjee, who was elected from West Bengal’s Bolpur constituency on Left Front-partner Communist Party of India (CPI-M) ticket, should resign from his office, although his post is a constitutional one and not dependent on his party decision.